Mowing-machine



(No Modell) i E. SMITH. MOWING MACHINE.

Pate 2 Sheets-Sheet .1.

(No Model.)

2 Shets-Sheet 2. BSMITH. MOWING MACHINE. No. 29,j249. Patented May 6, 1884.

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EPHRAIM SMITH, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

MOWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,249, dated May 6, 1884.

Application filed October Q6, 1883. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, EPHRAIM SMITH, of

Pittsburg, in the county. of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Mowing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making `part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a rear View of the frame and principal parts of a mowing-machine provided with myimprovements; Fig. 2, a top view, on a larger scale, of the improved finger-bar which constitutes a part of my invention; Fig. 3, a rear edge view of the finger-bar; Fig. 4, a cross-section of the coupling-arm and adjuncts in a plane indicated by the. line .'10 x, Fig. 5, showing another feature of my invention; and Fig. 5, a top view of a part of the coupling-arm and its adjuncts.

Like letters designate corresponding in all of the figures.

I-have heretofore invented an improved mowing-machine including the features described and claimed in'Letters Patent N o. 233,035, granted to me October 5, 1880, and yLetters Patent N o. 2,751,479, granted to me December 27, 1881, whereby, among other advantages gained, Ihave been enabled to employ a finger-bar and`cutter-bar of extraordinary length working very Successfully; but in the use of a finger-bar of such great length a difficulty was encountered which has required much study and experiment to overcome. I have now successfully obviated the difficulty by means vwhich I will proceed to describe as part of my present invention. The difficulty herein referred to arose from the springing and curving upward of the nger-bar in the middle by its own unsupported weight and that of the cutter-bar mounted thereon, so that the cutter-bar would bend downward at the outer lend and not work freely in its guards or ways. Since no truck or caster-wheel on the parts outer end of the finger-bar could be success' fully used with a spring-supported finger-bar such as set forth in the above-mentioned Letters Patent, means had to be devised in the construction of the finger-bar itself to overcome the` difficulty. My invention for this purposey consists in making the finger-bar of a mowing or reaping machine with a slight downward curvature in the middle, thereby elevating it at the outer end, whenever it is not subjected to the depressing effect of its own weight by being supported at the inner end only, as when in operation. The amount or degree of downward middle curvature is sufficient to make the nger-bar straight when it is sustained at its inner end on a mowingmachine ready for operation. I have found that by making finger-bars of uniform width, taper, and thickness, and of a material of uniform quality, a very constant and definite curvature can be given to them, which,when

the same are mounted for action, will, without fail, bring them practically straight. I .will here indicate approximately a denite degree of curvature with given dimensions, such as I am practically using, which will serve as a sufficient guide to those skilled in the manufacture of mowing-machines. NV ith a sevenfoot nger-bar, four inches wide at the inner end, two inches wide at the outer end, and half an inch thick, a downward middle curvature-sufficient to depress the same one inch, or thereabout, from a straight line drawn from on end of the nger-bar to the other in the lowest place will effect the result sought. The lowest depression should be at about onethird, or a little more, of the length of the nger-bar distant from its inner end, outside of the shoe on whichit is mounted. The curvature is nearly uniform from the shoe to the point named, and outside of that the curva'- ture soon vanishes into a straight line, which is thence continued to the outer end of the linger-bar. A little trial in the manufacture, with special dimensions and materials, will soon determineto the skilled workman the degree of curvature required, whether as above set forth or a slight variation therefrom.

A nger-bar curved or bent as above described, or so as to effect the result above set forth, 4I ywill in this specication simply term a curved nger-bar,7 and by this term I intend to designate such a finger-bar. l

Another feature of my invention consists in an improvement in mounting the balancel lever set forth in the said Letters Patent of October 5, 1880. It being` requisite or desirable to vary the power of this lever B exerted on the iinger-bar A, according to varying,r con- (litions or circumstances, I effect this purpose by pivoting the same on Aa movable adjustable pivot or i'ulcrum, C. attached to or formed with a clamp, a, which embraces the couplingarm D, and which is secured in the position to which it is adjusted on the said couplingarm by a set-screw, b. rIhus not only is the adjustment readily and easily effected, but the mounting is stronger than when the pivot or fulcrum pin is inserted in the coupling-arm. As a special feature of construction I form this clamp fa with the main part embracing three sides ofthe coupling-arm,aild the fourth side7 C, a` separate piece, with tenons at the ends to iit between forks d l on the ends ofthe main part, which are clinched or swaged around the tenons, as shown in Fig. 5, to hold the said piece to the main part and retain it on the coupling-arm. By. the adjustment of the lever pivot or fulerum along the coupling-arm, the end of the lever which presses on the inner end or heel ofthe lingerbar, or on the adjacent shoe, is adjusted nearer to or farther from the pivot f, on which the linger-bar turns, and consequently varies the leverage of the linger-bar, upon which the said lever acts.

To prevent injurious wear where the lever bears on the finger-bar or shoe, I mount an anti-frietion roller, g, on the bearing end of the lever, as shown in Figs. l and 5, whichroller plays on a concave surfacejzf, Where it bears on the shoe or linger-bar.

I claim as my inventionl. In a mowing and reaping machine, the

finger-bar formed with a downward middlev curvature, substantially as and for the purpose herein speciied.

2. A'curved linger-bar, in combination Witl means for sustaining the outer end of the iinger-bar from the inner end ofthe same.

3. A curved finger-bar, A, in combination with a countcrbalanciuglever, B, substantially as and `for the purpose herein specified.

4. The combination of the coupling-arm, the balance-lever, and the adjustable clamp mounted on the coupling-arm, and provided with the fulcrum-pin G, for the purpose specified.

The pivot-clamp consisting of the three sides a and a separate side, c, secured thereto, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereofl I have signed my name in the presence ol' two witnesses.

EPHP AIM SMITH.

\Vitncsses:

NIoHoLAs TENDER, JOHN B. SMITH. 

